Who built this stage? Meet the Arcade crew at #ELF2017

Arcade stage crew – Electric Love 2017

Festival press coverage usually showcases headliners and huge international acts. Rarely does the media cover the nitty gritty details behind a festival’s creation before the gates open. Lets face it, without the stage for the headliner to play, there would be no festival.

What goes into building a stage? How much time goes into the construction? Who does all the hard work? Meet the brains and brawn behind the Arcade stage’s second year at Electric Love music festival. This unique stage boasts a custom made LED wall and hosted a wide variety of acts from legendary emcees to banging breaks and bass DJs. Check the video above to see it in action.

BRIAN

DOPE HAUS: What was your contribution to the Arcade stage at Electric Love festival?

Bryan: I built the electrical components of the LED wall inside the booth. Matt built the wooden structures and I did the electrical wiring and component based stuff. I also do all the lighting operation of the Arcade stage .

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Brian also manages a stage team of six people.)

What time did you get to bed?

9:00am.

What time did you wake up today?

Noon.

What do people not understand about your job?

The main thing people don’t understand is that I finish work at 9 am. I strike the stage at 7am then it takes me a couple of hours to actually get to bed and wind down and eventually fall asleep. I usually get woken up at noon with something. It’s hard to be a lighting technician when you don’t get to sleep.

TYSON

DOPE HAUS: How did you contribute to the Arcade stage?

Tyson: I’m the technical designer, I helped with the design of the stage and some of the electronics and visuals for the LED panels.

What time did you get to bed last night?

I didn’t go to bed last night. I went to bed this morning at 7 o’clock.

When did you wake up?

It’s what, 8pm now? So probably just now.

What do people not understand about your job?

How many hours we put into this outside the festival. We usually dedicate just about every Saturday for the first three months before the festival and an undetermined amount of time before that. We got together, sometimes once a month or a couple times, to hash out ideas or do designs and work out the technical aspects. It’s kind of a hobby, so we’re doing it all the time.

When did you start this whole project?

We started in September. As soon as we were finished [at Electric Love] last year, we were already talking ideas, just like we are now.

MATT

DOPE HAUS: How did you contribute to the Arcade stage?

Matt: I did all the woodwork, all the construction of the plywood and I helped Tyson and Brian fit everything. Pretty easy. I used my workshop with a guy I work with. Yeah, it was lots of fun.

How long did the construction take?

We all did one day a week because we also have full time jobs. I’d say it took about 5 or 6 full build days.

What don’t people understand about your job?

They don’t see a lot of what we do. It works out great for us because we come in early, set it up and we get to enjoy the festival. Afterwards, we tear it all down and get it shipped out. We hang around and do maintenance that needs to be done. We’re professional builders, so it’s easy. We’ve been doing it a long time.

How long does it take for you to take the stage down at the end of the festival?

Best case scenario is when the sound equipment is done and the wires are clean, we could probably rip everything off the stage and throw down in an hour maybe.

CONNOR

DOPE HAUS: What did you contribute to the Arcade stage?

Connor: Really nothing compared to the guys who built it, they did a fantastic job. I have access to a laser cutter so I cut a couple small pieces which would be really hard to do by hand. I’m happy to cut more because the laser is such a versatile tool, you could do a lot with it that you could never do by hand.

What do people not understand about your job?

Basically how easy it is if you have access to a laser cutter. I can cut extremely complicated shapes in just a few minutes.

How long did the whole process take you?

Probably about 10 minutes on the machine and maybe 15 minutes designing in CAD.